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He held the salute for an hour and a half and quietly hummed the old songs his heroes would have loved and thought of those who lived their final moments on that spot. He only broke his salute briefly to wipe away tears. I only wish I could have been there to join in his salute. I would not have taken a photo however, I would have just imbibed the moment as this young man, living in the present, honored those of the past.

During his time as a POW Gen. Mechenbier heroically stood up to the Communist guards, in the Vietnamese camp, who tried in vein to stop the American prisoners from having a weekly prayer service. “You can have no church services,” the camp commander said. “You embarrass us in front of the Russians.”

Gen. Mechenbier’s response, according to another POW was, “It doesn’t matter what you do including killing every one of us, but as long as one man is alive we are having that church service.” He said it so simply, coolly and firmly, recounts this same POW, that the guards knew and the Americans knew that there was going to be no compromise.

Gen. Mechenbier was subsequently beaten for his resistance but did not give in. …The prayer services continued.

The mortal remains of Major Howard V. Andre Jr. and Major James E. Sizemore –shot down in Laos 40 years ago– were discovered and positively identified in 2012. In September 2013 they were layed to rest in Arlington Cemetery. A flyover would have been more than appropriate but was refused because of government budget cuts. This did not stop retired pilots, members of the non profit group Warrior Aviation, from stepping in to provide a Flight of Honor for two of their own.

Those who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are at their post 24/7, no matter the weather conditions. As many Americans along the East Coast hunkered down and stayed warm during this years harsh winter weather, members of The Old Guard stood watch over the bodies “Known but to God.” Have you ever wondered what motivates these men?

“It’s about the collective respect for people who have gone before us. And it’s about the sacrifice of the unknowns and all the service members who have gone in front of us. So we want to honor their service. The guys fighting in the mountains of Afghanistan right now are not going to stop if it starts snowing tomorrow. The guys who fought in the mountains of Korea didn’t stop because it started snowing. So we have that same mentality down here and to honor their same sacrifice and their same service we’re not going to stop either.”

Delta Flight 2255 from Atlanta to Los Angeles seemed to be an ordinary flight with the exception of Candy, who was the most loving flight attendant I’ve ever encountered. Besides using her Southern charm to quickly defuse every situation, she began her welcome announcement by thanking the handful of uniformed soldiers on-board for serving our country. Her poignant message was followed by applause, and it put into perspective that none of us would be able to do what we do without these brave men and women.

But this transcontinental flight turned out to be everything but ordinary. We later learned, when the captain got on the PA system about 45 minutes prior to landing, that we were transporting a fallen soldier. The plane went quiet as he explained that there was a military escort on-board and asked that everyone remain seated for a couple of minutes so the soldiers could get off first. He also warned us not to be alarmed if we see fire trucks since Los Angeles greets their fallen military with a water canon salute. See my video below.

A few minutes after touchdown, we did indeed have a water canon salute, which I’d previously only experienced on happy occasions like inaugural flights. This time, the water glistening on the windowpanes looked like tears.

Passengers in the airport must have been worried when they saw our plane pull into gate 69A, as we had a full police and fire escort, front and back.

I was on the left side of the plane and later realized that the family could be seen off to the right, standing with the United States Army Honor Guard. According to Wikipedia, each military branch has its own honor guard, usually military in nature, and is composed of volunteers who are carefully screened. One of the primary roles for honor guards is to provide funeral honors for fallen comrades.

When the jet door opened, another military officer addressed the escort who was standing at attention. He then stepped on the plane and told us passengers “I just addressed the escort. It is a sworn oath to bring home, to the family, the fallen.” He paused and then said, “Today you all did that, you are all escorts, escorts of the heart.” And then thanked us for our time and walked off the plane.

As you can imagine, everyone was silent and no one got up, not even that person from the back row who pretends he doesn’t [understand] English so he can be first off the plane. I’m sure most had meteor-sized lumps in their throats and tears in their eyes like I did.

It only got more emotional when I deplaned. There was a large number of passengers, who are normally in a hurry to get home or make a connection, standing by the window to witness something truly moving. To see the Honor Guard and family waiting patiently, while LAX baggage handlers and a military loadmaster removed the flag covered casket first from the cargo hold, was humbling to say the least. I’m not sure if it was the fallen soldier’s mother or wife who I watched slowly walk up to the coffin while a few other family members, wrapped in blankets, stood near with a dozen or so of the Honor Guards standing in salute.

As soon as I saw her reach out to put her hand on her baby’s casket, I walked away.

This ordinary flight became extraordinary and is one that I will never forget.

Thank you to all the military who protect our beautiful country and let us live the lives we are able to lead. Without you we would be nothing. And thank you to the Honor Guard for making sure these fallen soldiers, warriors and heroes are not treated like just any piece of luggage as they used to, but rather with the care and respect they so rightly deserve.